Armenian medieval sculpture
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Armenian medieval sculptures are sculptures created in the medieval period. They are most present on or in churches, martyries, and free-standing monuments, such as four-sided stelae and khachkars (cross stones). The popularity of sculpture in the Armenian medieval art was due to midis- a three-layer layout of stones, when two rows of hewn stones were joined with lime mortar, and the surface got an artistic treatment.[1]
The adoption of Christianity by King Trdat (Tiridates) the Great (278–330) in 301, as well as the educational and cultural activities of Gregory the Illuminator, contributed to the building of churches and monasteries, which were decorated with Christian symbols and compositions. The artistic traditions of medieval Armenian sculpture were outlined (4th–5th centuries) and then finally formed (7th century) in the context of Eastern Christian art.[2] No less important was the geographical position of Armenia, between the Byzantine and Sasanian empires, which also outlined the ways of the cultural development of the country.
The academic studies of Armenian medieval sculpture started during the archaeological companies in the historical capital of Ani under the direction of the scholar Nikolai Marr. Later, and especially in the 20th century, the study of Armenian medieval sculpture gained momentum among Armenian and foreign researchers. Although the Armenian sculpture has a wide sphere of expression, the richest are the church buildings. In Armenian churches, sculpture acts as the main element of exterior decoration, and is present in the interior as well. This sculpture tradition, like in the whole Christendom, was formed on the basis of symbolic perceptions about the Church (the Temple of Moses, the Heavenly Jerusalem). The church sculpture was most present on the entrances, windows, and facades. The imagery and symbolism had the meaning and function of communication with god.
The Armenian basilicas of the early period (5th–6th centuries) were characterized by symbolic images: crosses with the arms of equal length in a circle, complemented by floral and geometrical motifs symbolizing eternal life. Crosses were often raised on a short pole or stepped base as the symbol of Golgotha.[3]
It is noteworthy that in the South Caucasus, only in Armenia, one can find monogram crosses (crus monogramatica) with the combination of two stylized letters of the name of Christ (Aghtsk, Kasagh, Etchmiadzin). Such earliest forms of crosses are depicted in the rock cut complex of Vankasar (Artsakh), in the tomb of Aghtsk, as well as on the facades of the basilicas of Lernakert, Tigranakert (Artsakh), Tsitsernavank, Agarak, Yereruyk, Bayburd, and Parpi. Also typical of this period are depictions of vine scrolls, palmettes, acanthus, and lily flowers, as well as depictions of birds, sometimes animals’ combat as symbols of the triumph of faith and the eternal struggle.[4]
Plot scenes are almost absent in the mentioned period. Some notable exceptions are the images of the apostle Paul and Saint Thecla on the cathedral of Etchmiadzin, as well as the scenes of Daniel in the Lions’ Den and hunting of a boar on the Arshakuni tomb in Aghtsk (5th century).[5]
The first high point of the development of Armenian medieval sculpture is the 7th century, and it coincides with the "golden age" of Armenian architecture. In this period, new compositions appeared, and various artistic and iconographic solutions were developed. Holy and patron imagery (Mren, Pemzashen, Ptghni) became almost mandatory. Various forms of crosses became popular: Latin crosses, lobed, braided crosses, and crosses imitating a coating with gems/jewels. Geometric and vegetal elements (cornices, archivolts of windows) fascinated with their variety of classical ornaments. Images of animals and birds with symbolic meaning had an important place in the sculpture: deer, bull, ram, bear, goat, pigeon, peacock, eagle (Barekamavan, Tsob, Tspni, Tallinn, Agarak, Tsiranovor, Zvartnots, etc.).
Sacred images and Christian themes became widely used: Christ (Mren, Odzun),[6] Virgin Mary with the Child (Dvin, Odzun, Pemzashen), the apostles (Etchmiadzin), Saints, including the Holy Soldiers (Dvin, Odzun), as well as the Ascension (Odzun, Ptghnavank), the Annunciation (Odzun). There are more images and scenes on the four-sided stelae that often remind icon compositions․ The most important achievement of the 7th century is the harmonious combination of church building and sculptural decoration, which is expressed in Zvartnots (652).[7] Here, the blind arcades wrap all three tiers of the church, and this composition has direct correlation both to the architecture of the Anastasis Rotunda in Jerusalem (327 AD) and a symbolic image of Jerusalem.
In Zvartnots, the Heavenly Garden is presented for the first time, with alternating images of vine scrolls and pomegranate trees, against which human figures and animal(s), such as a bear, appear. The blind arcade and the Heavenly Garden, generally ascending to the late antique and early Christian art, thanks to Zvartnots, once and for all entered and became a source of inspiration for the Armenian church buildings of the later centuries. Referring to the monuments of the early period, the Armenian architect Toros Toramanyan especially mentions the living spirit of antiquity.[8]
Varieties of blind arcades were popular in the Bagratid and Zakarid times. And the Heavenly Garden of Zvartnots receives a different interpretation in the Talin Cathedral (2nd half of the 7th century), in the Holy Cross Church of Aghtamar (915–921), as well as in the churches of Ani in the first half of the 13th century. The Armenian "golden age" is interrupted by Arab invasions.
Early medieval period (9th–11th centuries)
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After the period of Arab rule in Armenia and the South Caucasus, a new period of cultural flourishing began, and active church building was accompanied by new sculptural compositions and solutions. The "first signs" were khachkars (cross stones), which partially continued the tradition of four-sided stelae, forming an original compositional and iconographic system.[9]
The period of great and small kingdoms in Armenia, the 9th–11th centuries, was characterized by the formation of several large cultural centers and artistic styles: in Shirak (Shirakavan, Argina, Kars, Ani), Tayk (Ishkhan, Banak, Chordvan, Khakhu), Vaspurakan (Aghtamar), and Syunik (Tatev, Bgheno-Noravank).
In 915–921, by the order of Gagik Artsruni, the Armenian king of Vaspurakan, one of the unique Armenian monuments, the Church of the Holy Cross on the Aghtamar island was built. The peculiarity of the building was the modest size of the church, the facades of which the architect Manuel managed to decorate with an unprecedented number of sculptures and extensive scenes. The animal types in reliefs are also unprecedented, including fabulous ones. Alternating with each other, uninterrupted rows of scenes and images of the Aghtamar church seem to be depictions of scenes from the Bible. The monumental images of King Gagik and the deified ancestors of the Artsruni family also found their place in this "Heavenly World".
The 9th–11th century Armenian sculpture is rich in images of patrons. On the tympanum of the main entrance of the church of Yerznka (near Ani) (895) were depicted two princes on horseback before the Virgin and Child and accompanied by angels (destroyed). In the second half of the 10th century, the high relief figures of the crowned princes Gurgen and Smbat Bagratuni were depicted on the eastern facades of the main churches of Sanahin and Haghpat monasteries (St. Amenaprkich church 966, St. Nshan church 976).[10]
And the representatives of the younger branch of Bagratuni (in Tayk), Bagrat and David, were solemnly depicted in Oshkvank (963–973). The compositions of Aghtamar and Oshkvank had direct iconographic correlation to Byzantine imperial images (the mosaic of Constantine and Justinian, St. Sophia, end of the 10th century). And the almost round sculpture of Smbat Bagratuni in Haghpat got its further development in the two-meter statue of King Gagik of Ani, which once decorated the façade of the church of St. Grigor-Gagkashen (1001–1020, architect Trdat).
A group of frontal sculptural faces has pre-existing unique decorations. That composition consisted of blind arcades extending along the facades of the church and a sculptured "belt" of the Heavenly Garden inhabited by birds, animals, and sometimes with human figures.
